Tuesday, November 16, 2010Source: Boychuk will return Wednesday
By James Murphy

Defenseman Johnny Boychuk will be in the Bruins' lineup Wednesday night when they take the ice at Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers, a team source said Tuesday night.

Boychuk's last game was against the Rangers on Oct. 23, when he broke his left forearm compliments of a slash from New York forward Brandon Dubinsky. The injury has kept Boychuk sidelined for the last nine games. But in the last week he has made tremendous progress, skating with the team, shooting without discomfort and having his cast removed Sunday.

As of Tuesday morning, the team was playing it safe and wasn't sure if Boychuk would play against the Rangers, winners of three straight.

"I guess it's how his hand feels and if he's able to move that around a little bit and whether it's not going to handcuff him," Julien said Tuesday morning after practice in Wilmington, Mass. "You want to put a guy in that's going to help you, not hurt you. I think right now we're just at a stage where he's day-to-day and we'll probably get a better idea tomorrow morning. He's got to be confident too going out there that he doesn't have limitations. If he's got limitations, we've got guys that are very healthy right now that could play ahead of him."

Boychuk told the media that he was ready to play.

"I had a lot of conditioning to do while I was out," Boychuk said. "The coaches did a good job of that, and I feel fine to play now."

Apparently Boychuk convinced the medical staff and coaches that he was ready. As of Tuesday night, according to the source, the plan was for Boychuk and his powerful slap shot to be back on the ice, barring any major pain or discomfort Wednesday morning.